


Flash Fanfiction - Episode 30 - Dr Psycho

by Mindmarvel



Series: Flash Fanfic Introducing Mind Marvel [30]
Category: DC Comics, The Flash (Comics)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2018-03-15
Packaged: 2019-03-31 23:44:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 9,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13985844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mindmarvel/pseuds/Mindmarvel
Summary: Iris' article has caught the attention of a telepathic misogynist psychologist, by the name of Edgar Cizko (DR Psycho). He kidnaps Iris and Astrid in his bid to break them. It's up to Team Flash to save them. Just a warning: this story might have some very dark torturing scenes. (I'm trying write Iris as an inspiring reporter not as a member of Team Flash, sorry if that offends)





	1. Chapter 1

There was a bustle at Picture News. The article that Iris had written on King Shark had been a real hit in Central City. The fact that she had been captured by the beast known as King Shark, along with the Flash, whose powers had been dampened, showed that Central City's scarlet speedster, was in fact vulnerable. The fact that they had been rescued by the female CEO of STAR Labs was something else.

Iris knew that her being kidnapped all that time with the Flash, without finding out his identity would cause people to question her credibility as a reporter. But after The Flash came to her last night, pleading that she not reveal Cisco's identity, it led her to leave Cisco out of the article entirely. She would not reveal the alter egos of her heroes.  
She decided to use this and put a spin on the article. She had revealed to her readers that Astrid Sutherland from STAR Labs had been the one who had freed them. That she had bypassed the military bravely and had unlocked the tank. Iris was still unsure as to how it had all happened, and her father refused to speak a word of it, but Iris believed that she had written the article that was inspiring.

She even left a message to her readers in her final chapter. "Heroes come in all shapes and sizes, and they will always surprise us. It was a woman from STAR Labs, Astrid Sutherland, that freed us. We have always seen her as a villainess, a CEO who was willing to work with corrupt leaders such as Lionel Luthor. But she risked her own life to rescue us. This goes to show that while the Flash will wear a mask and fight every day to save the city that he loves, The Sutherland heiress, also wears a mask… a mask that hides who she truly is, a heroic and inspiring woman who will do anything to rescue the heroes of our city."

Iris knew that the rest of her article may have put off the impression that she was a little obsessed with the Flash, but maybe she was… it helped with her writing of course, which is what got her the job for Picture News in the first place. But this article had a real sense of girl power, and in this changing world, girl power is what was needed.  
Iris reread over her article, very pleased with herself. But she was startled by the menacing voice of a man who called out over the large office. "Where is the writer of this article?" he called out angrily "Where is Iris West?"

"So, my fearless leaderette… How does it feel knowing that you took down the son of a shark god?" Cisco asked, as he and Astrid sat at the desk in the cortex.  
"Well, my adorkable nerd… It's kind of scary. I even mind controlled general Eiling and his men to cover our asses… And my headaches were only dull this time… Like I'm getting used to them or something… This sort of power is…" Astrid was having a hard time finding the right words to finish her sentence.

"Intimidating to say the least?" Cisco asked. "Yeah, I get that. I bet your happy to be seen in a new light with Iris' article… Central City might not see us as the villains anymore, and it was thanks to you saving our asses... again… Just don't let the power go to your head… You know what I mean?" he grinned at his own joke, making her roll her eyes. "But, seriously… that's normally what sends the Jedi's to the dark side… you know… that and emotions… but I think your emotions are what keep you grounded."  
"That article was quite flattering… and thank you for your wisdom, oh wise sensei, Cisco." she joked back, "I think I'll be fine provided, I have you by my side to keep me grounded…" she leant over and kissed him, just as Harry entered the room.

"I thought this was supposed to be a place of work," he announced making them part, "…in any other office the boss making out with her lackey would be considered as…"  
"Yeah, we get it!" Cisco said, "But you're also forgetting that up here this isn't just any place of business. I mean, I suppose it would be hard for you to notice what with us taking down a shark god and you know, breaching him and a great meta-ape to separate earths!"

"Calm down, you two." Astrid replied as she stood up, "but I get it, no making out in the cortex where just anyone can walk in."  
"Thank you, Astrid." Harry, replied, but then he realized what she meant as she walked towards her office with Cisco trailing behind. "Not what I meant!" Harry called out after them, but as he did the emergency alert sounded on the computer.

"There go our afternoon plans." Cisco said as he looked over at the screen. "Woah, man… That's not what I was expecting…"  
"What?" Astrid asked, but she saw exactly what he was referring to. There was a situation up at Picture News.  
"Okay! Masks on, Vibe!" Astrid said, "This looks big! Harry take the computer! I'm going with Cisco!"

"You know, Astrid, this will be the first time you and I have gone out on a mission together. Are you sure you can keep up with me?" Cisco asked as the two rushed off to put on their suits.  
"Cisco, I've seen how long you take on your hair… I'm sure I'll be fine!" she grinned at him.  
The two of them arrived via breach to Central City Picture News to find Iris being restrained by some of her fellow colleagues and a man who Astrid could remember seeing once in her lifetime. Dr Edgar Cizko, a former psychologist.  
"Another woman?" he scoffed at Astrid. "You female heroes make me sick!

"Vibe, free Iris!" Astrid called out angrily, "Let me take care of this jerk!" But as Astrid went to charge at him, it occurred to her. He was a telepath and he was trying to compel her.  
It wasn't working, of course, and she predicted his next move. Astrid had to duck as Vibe shot a blast in her direction.  
"The jerk's a telepath!" she spat out. She focused her mind control on reversing the effects of Cisco's mind control, but as she was about to, someone knocked her over the back of the head.

Edgar Cizko used his compulsion to manipulate Vibe and Iris' colleagues to restrain Astrid and Iris and lock them into the back of his truck.  
As he drove away, it took a few minutes to realize what had just happened. Cisco immediately breached back to STAR Labs to tell Harry the news.


	2. Chapter 2

Barry and Caitlin were enjoying their coffees over at Jitters when their emergency alerts went off. They both checked their phones.  
"It's Cisco!" Barry exclaimed, "I thought he said that they had things covered."  
"It must be an emergency. It's coming from STAR Labs." Caitlin said concerned.

The two of them left immediately and arrived in to the cortex. Barry immediately looked around and noticed the concerned expressions on Cisco and Harry's faces.  
"Where's Astrid?" he asked them.  
"We're up against another telepath." Cisco declared. "This guy kidnapped Astrid and Iris, and he made me and the guys over at Picture News do his dirty work."  
"Would anyone know what he would want with the both of them?" Caitlin asked.

Cisco shrugged, he was disappointed at how he had once again, been used as a weapon to trap his girlfriend.  
But Harry spoke up, "The man was a misogynist. I heard him say that female heroes make him sick. It would have been the article that Iris wrote that caught his attention, Astrid arriving onto the scene would have angered him all the more."

"Do we know who he is? Cisco, do you remember what he looked like?" Barry asked.  
"Yeah, I do. Are you suggesting we go down to CCPD and give our statements?" Cisco suggested.  
"No need." Barry said, he grabbed a sketchpad and a pencil, "Alright Cisco, I need you to describe him for me."  
"You can draw? Since when?" Cisco asked.

"Are you forgetting that I'm the fastest man alive? I learnt facial sketching within a time frame of five minutes… and we're wasting time, So what did he look like?"  
Within minutes Barry had drawn up a perfect lifelike sketch of the villain. "Is this your guy, Cisco?"  
"Yeah, that's him… I've gone over Central City's database and couldn't get a match."

"Well, he is a telepath. We know what Astrid is capable of, maybe this guy manipulated someone to wipe his records." Barry suggested.  
Dr Wells took the sketchpad and studied it. "I've seen this man, well not him… but his doppleganger. I don't know how I didn't see it before!" His voice trailed off.  
"Well… Don't keep us all in suspense!" Cisco snapped, impatiently.

"Sorry, his name is DR Edgar Cizko. He was a former psychologist, he went insane thanks to his abilities. The things that he is capable of…" DR Wells said. There was a real fear in Harry's eyes.

Caitlin shuddered, "And he hates women... that can't be good!" she looked over at Cisco who was trying to keep calm.  
"Well, we need to hunt down this Dr Psycho before he does something to either one of them. Let's get the anti-telepath gear!"  
"Iris…" Astrid said groggily, the two of them were tied to chairs, back to back. "Iris, you need to wake up. Please!" The man who had kidnapped them had removed her mask. Fortunately, Iris was not in a position to see Mind Marvel's true identity.

"Where are we?" Iris asked her as she awoke. They were in a darkened room, there was no one else there but themselves. They didn't have gags, but it didn't surprise Astrid. She knew their captor. He would find his enjoyment in hearing them scream.  
"I'm not sure. But we have to get out of here, somehow." She replied.

"I'm actually getting a little annoyed with being kidnapped." Iris said, "This is twice in two days for me."  
Suddenly, the door opened letting in a dim light, along with the man known as DR Edgar Cizko. "The two of you are finally awake. You would imagine my relief when I learnt that masked hero from earlier is the one and only Astrid Sutherland from STAR labs." He said menacingly, "and she is also a telepath!" he said, knowing that he was revealing her secret.  
"What?" Iris asked, twisting her neck to see that even in the dim light, that he was right. Astrid Sutherland was in fact, Mind Marvel.

Astrid let her face fall, but as she did so, she tried to release a mind scream into her captor's mind. Though for some reason he seemed quite immune to it.  
"Your powers will not work on me, Astrid. Oh the fun that I am going to have with the two of you." His voice was low and there was a sinister mockery that Astrid feared most of all.  
"Oh, Miss West!" he began, "Don't think that I have forgotten about you. You writing your rubbish on that red hero are what have brought you to light. Your article on this hopeless bitch is the reason I kidnapped you… All this talk on girl power needs to be obliterated. What better way to end it then by ending the two of you?"

"The Flash will come!" Iris yelled out, "The Flash will save us!"  
But Edgar laughed "He won't be fast enough to save either one of you when I'm done with you both."  
Astrid managed to probe the man's mind. But as she got a glimpse, he put up his mental wall. Regardless, this man was a sick and twisted individual who should have been locked up a long time ago.

If torture was what he sought. She would not let him break her. She kept up her mental wall so he couldn't get into her thoughts. No matter what he did, she promised that she would not break.

Astrid looked at the man, right into his eyes as a sense of equality, she knew that he hated it. "You can try, but you cannot get into my mind. We won't need the Flash to save us, just watch. We'll defeat you ourselves!" she said calmly.  
She could sense Iris' fear in her words. But Astrid was taunting the man, she wanted to anger him. Her plan was to spare Iris the worst of what this psychopath could do. Astrid would be his target.


	3. Chapter 3

Astrid woke up again. She knew that her sneer comment had angered the man, so much that he had hit her, knocking her out. The feeling of dried blood to the side of her head told her that she had been out for a little while. She was feeling light headed. He must have injected her with something. Her hands were still bound behind her back, but now they were restrained with something made of metal.

"Astrid, finally you're awake." Iris exclaimed, "The Flash is here!" she was ecstatic.  
"The Flash?" Astrid asked turning her head, sure enough, the scarlet speedster and Vibe were standing right in front of them.  
"You guys need to help us!" Astrid said, "Quick, untie us!" but they didnt untie them.

Vibe shot an energy blast right for them, making Iris scream. "Iris, he's playing with our heads! They aren't really here!" Astrid said when she had realized that it had all been a hallucination.  
"I thought that he couldn't get into your head?" Iris asked.

"I thought so too… but he must have injected me with something. It's lowered my inhibitions. Whatever happens, you need to remember it's all just a trick. I've seen this before. He wants to break us, but you need to resist. We will get out of here, I promise you, Iris!" Astrid explained.  
There was a slow clapping coming from the darkness, he had been there watching them all along. "Astrid Sutherland, there are other ways to torture you than to get into your mind." He approached them and whispered something into Iris' ear.

He untied Iris and handed her a dagger, leaving Astrid still tied up in her chair. Astrid tried to read Iris' mind, but her powers had been dampened. When he had knocked her out, it was clear that he had switched her wrists restraints with those stupid power dampening cuffs. Which explained the trickery from earlier, and right now he was clearly in Iris' mind.  
Iris stood before Astrid with the dagger in her hand, he had compelled her.

"Iris, bring the weapon to her cheek. Scar her pretty little face." Dr Edgar instructed.  
"Iris, you need to fight it! You need to!" Astrid said alarmed.  
But Iris swiped the blade across Astrid's cheek in one swift move, making Astrid blink. It had hurt and she was bleeding, but she was not going to break. "I will not break!" Astrid snapped at the doctor.

"You certainly have strong will power. But remember, you are wearing restraints that dampen your powers. When you were sleeping, I was able to see in to your head. I saw your deepest and darkest thoughts. And when this reporter realizes what she has done, it will break her. She will destroy you!"  
"And you won't leave a single finger print on the knife… so you won't get caught." Astrid snapped, "Very clever… but you're forgetting one thing. You're nothing but a weak man, who does his dirty work through tricks and compelling others! We are still stronger than you!"

The man sneered at her, and Iris immediately slashed the other side of Astrid's face, once again making her flinch. She was still under the man's compulsion. But Astrid still refused to cry. "It won't work. Keep trying!" Astrid yelled out, bringing up her mental wall again.  
As this was happening, Cisco saw the action as if he were actually there himself.

"Cisco? Are you okay? What did you see?" Caitlin asked him, noticing the look of shock on his face. She put her arm around him and moved him to sit down in his seat.  
"He's using Iris to hurt Astrid. I saw her slashing a knife against her face, as if I was actually there!" He managed to say.  
"That's grim." Caitlin said looking over at Barry.  
"Did you manage to see where they were? Anything?" Barry asked him, impatiently.

"No, there wasn't much light. Astrid can't use her powers either. We have to be missing something! Harry, that guy's doppleganger! There had to be anything that stood out? Names? places? He has to have something in common with this guy!" Cisco pleaded.  
"I never actually fought him, Ramon. But I met people that did." Harry argued.

"Well, get to work… go chase up leads with your council of Wells! Or your other World Walkers! This is urgent!" Cisco snapped at him.  
"It's not that easy, Ramon!" Harry snapped back, throwing a tablet across the room and storming out.  
Cisco slumped in his seat, "That jerk broke my tablet!" he mumbled angrily.

Caitlin went to go after Harry, but Barry stopped her. "You deal with Cisco. I'll speak with Dr Wells." Barry knew the real reason that Dr Wells had gone into his office, he knew that it had something to with DR Fate.

Barry entered the office of Dr Harry Wells and closed the door behind him. "Are you going to summon her father? We need his help." Barry said.  
"I cannot help you, Barry Allen." The echoing voice of Dr Fate sounded from behind Barry, making both he and Harry look up.  
"Some father, you won't even protect your own daughter!" Barry snapped.  
"As much as this is hurting Kent, I cannot stop this man. The gods will not allow me to." DR Fate said.

"Remove your helmet, I bet that Kent would argue otherwise!" Barry snapped.  
"Barry," DR Wells cut in "If I'm correct, this is a test for Astrid to overcome. The gods have set it before her."  
"A test?" Barry asked, "I'm beginning to see why your buddy Constantine hates the gods so much… Fine, but there should be something that we can do about all of this. Do we know of any other names that this DR Psycho has gone by? Cisco had that name right on the mark! He has to go by another name."

They heard the voice of DR Fate give up a name before he disappeared again. "Carlo Montez".  
"That's a start!" Harry snapped.  
He and Barry hurried back into the cortex.  
"Carlo Montez!" Dr Wells said to Cisco.

"You're acting like I should know that name?" Cisco grumbled back.  
"Get to work, Ramon! Search the name in the database, now!"  
"You don't have to tell me twice!" Cisco snapped back, he typed the name and was surprised that he got a match. "You guys, here he is!"  
"It says that he used to work for STAR Labs," Barry said.

"On the human sciences floor." Caitlin added in, "he left when Astrid took over the facility for her father and wow… He has been all over the place… even with…"  
"…the Grodd project…" the three of them said in unison.


	4. Chapter 4

"I've been looking everywhere and I can't find a single trace of him." Cisco said, "DR Psycho just doesn't want to be found!"  
"It looks like we actually need help!" Caitlin said, "Barry. Did you get in contact with Joe? Surely CCPD can lend us a hand."  
"I did, they already have everyone out on the force looking for them." Barry replied.

"I might know a guy," Harry said, "He's a PI. I might have helped him get his job back and now he owes me one."  
"A PI?" Barry asked, "You're not talking about Ralph Dibny are you? How the hell did you meet him? He's a crook!"  
"I'd rather not say. Dibny might be our best chance at tracking someone who doesn't want to be found, and right now I'm willing to bet that we will stop at nothing to get Astrid and Iris back safely. Even working with someone that you consider to be a crook." DR Wells said.

"Alright, call him!" Cisco said, "Do whatever it takes!"  
"Even calling a criminal?" Barry asked.  
"People can change, Barry." Caitlin said, "Look at Captain Cold and Heatwave."  
"Right, okay Harry. Call him… but if he betrays us, don't say I didn't warn you!" Barry said defeated.

Astrid was covered in deep cuts all over her face and body. They were all still bleeding, making her feel nothing but pain and dizziness. Fortunately the wounds were not severely deep. Though, the dagger had pierced through her suit, so much for being impenetrable. But she had not screamed nor cried, once. She had focused all her energy on keeping her composure. She had remembered all that she had seen while she was in her coma, as if she were back there.

The doctor had left them, leaving Iris in a trance state sitting on the floor untied. He had compelled Iris to stay. She was not bound nor tied, she could free Astrid and they could escape, but she lacked the mental willpower to overcome the man's compulsion.  
"Astrid. I want to help you! I'm so sorry for what I've done! He made me do it!" Iris cried.  
"Iris, Don't cry. That's what he wants. Remember, he targeted you for your reporting skills. His goal is to break women, don't let him! Overcome this, be a powerful female reporter. Don't let anything get in the way of that!" Astrid told her.

"He's angry that you haven't broken yet. He wants me to kill you." Iris said.  
Astrid groaned, "You won't do it, Iris… and if you do, I'll know that it wasn't your fault. That he compelled you to do it and then you'll tell Central City my last words. The Flash will come and Captain Singh will know that you weren't the one responsible."  
"How will he know?" Iris asked.

"Because Singh is one of the few who know who I really am. And I need you to promise me, that you will keep it that way. Even if I die. People can't know that I am Mind Marvel. I need you to promise me."  
"I promise," Iris said between sobs.  
Astrid sighed, she knew that she was beginning to break, "But that won't happen Iris. The Flash will come! He will save us! We can't lose hope! Right now, I know that he is working with my friends to find a way!"

"You mean Cisco, Caitlin… and Barry?" Iris asked.  
"Barry? Why Barry?" Astrid was unsure as to where Iris was going.  
"Because he has to know something about the Flash. I know that he knows him. And you guys are always so close." Iris said, "I wouldn't be a good reporter if I didn't know that."  
Astrid nodded, but said nothing.

"If I don't survive, Astrid. Please, tell Barry that I'm sorry that I picked my career over him. I regret hurting him every day! But the truth is, that I would make that same choice again."  
Shock ran over Astrid. What would Caitlin and Barry do if they knew this?  
"Don't think like that, Iris! We're not going to die!" Astrid snapped, she knew that they were both slowly losing hope, "Screw waiting for someone to come save us. We're getting the hell out of here!"

"Do you have an idea?" Iris asked "I can't even move! It's like I have some sort of weight on my entire body!"  
"Not an idea… but a theory. The next time he tries to compel you, I need you to think of a thick wall… don't let him into your head. Use all your will power! All that willpower that made you turn down Barry, for your career, use it. Because if it makes the smallest of distractions, we know that we have a chance to fight against this creep."  
"Is that how you do it?" Iris asked her.

"More or less… I let my emotions fuel me. Think about everything you have left to offer. Think about becoming that amazing reporter that I know you are…" Astrid was trying to motivate her with her words. It seemed to be working.

Iris smiled, "I was right when I wrote what I did in my article, while everyone thought you were this CEO villainess. You really were hiding behind a mask. I know you don't want people to know that you are Mind Marvel, but Astrid Sutherland really is a hero."  
"So, what do you say that we get the hell out of here and take Central City by storm. Who needs the Flash to get us out of this one? We can do it ourselves."  
The door slammed open and DR Edgar Cizko had returned.  
"Remember, Iris. One thick wall!" Astrid said. Iris nodded and the psychopath approached her.


	5. Chapter 5

"Ralph Dibny Private Investigator… That's a funny name." Cisco said as he, Barry, Caitlin and Harry stood at the door.  
"Wait til you meet him." Barry replied. He knocked on the door.  
"Just a minute!" A voice called out from inside the office. There was a shuffling about as if the man were cleaning up his office. The man finally opened the door and stared at them.  
"Yes, how can I help you?" He asked them all.

Harry stepped forward and pushed Ralph back into his office aggressively "Cut the crap, we spoke on the phone and you already promised to help us!"  
"It smells like old socks in here..." Cisco said, scrunching up his nose, as he walked into the office, "...man, I wouldn't piss Harry off, This guy likes to break things."  
"Harry, leave the man alone." Barry said. DR Wells let go of Ralph, who adjusted his suit jacket.  
"Thanks Barry. I thought that you hated me after all that mess a few years back." Ralph replied.

"I do hate you, and I don't trust you. But right now, DR Wells said that you're the only guy who can track down the man who has kidnapped our friends. So that's why you're not in jail right now." Barry said.

"Oh, so Dr Wells never told you what he helped me with?" Ralph asked them, "he and his two friends…"  
"Look just do your jo…" Cisco began, "Wells has other friends? Now I'm curious!"  
"Cisco! Focus, Astrid's life is at stake!" Caitlin reminded him, "Ralph, we really need your help. Please." She pleaded with him.  
"Okay, I'll help for a price." Ralph replied.  
Caitlin glared him.

"Okay, I'll do it because you have a really cute face, when your mad," He decided. "I'm assuming that you guys have a name for me to search?"  
"DR Edgar Cizko…" Cisco said, "…and pronounce it the way I said it… its far too similar to my name for my liking! he also goes by the name of Carlo Montez… and, you know… Dr PSYCHO!" His eyes went wide as he said the name.

"Okay… I'll see what I can find." Ralph replied, writing down the names. "It might take me an hour… did you guys want to wait out…" he began, but the group just stared at him, waiting for him to act fast. "Okay, I'll get to work… Just don't rush me! Does someone want to get me a folder from…" he pointed to a filing cabinet across the room.  
"Fine, I'll get it, myself!" Ralph decided, he reached his arm across the desk, and then it continued to reach past the group and to the other side of the room, surprising Barry, Cisco and Caitlin at how far it stretched.

"Man… your arm is…" Cisco began, "…that is just so cool… Inspector Gadget!" he grinned.  
Ralph opened the cabinet and flicked through the folders, next he stretched his neck just as far so he could see into the draw, while still sitting at his desk.  
Caitlin felt a little light headed. "That's just… that's not right! I think I'm going to be sick!" she said sitting down on one of the chairs.

Barry poured her a glass of water from the jug on the desk as Ralph brought his head and arm back to their original places, in proper proportion to his body.  
"This is the file we're looking for," Ralph said, unphased by the groups reaction to his powers. He was holding a very thick folder.  
"Ralph… I never knew that you could… do that…" Barry said.

"There's a lot of things you didn't know about me, it seems… I'm really surprised that your friend Harry didn't give you the run down on me, before he brought you here." Ralph said, not looking up. "Are you going to let me read through these notes or are we going to talk about what I can and can't do?"  
"Oh, can you do that thing…" Cisco began, but Barry and Caitlin glared at him. "Oh, right… Astrid's life is at stake… so get to work!" he snapped.

Barry was growing impatiently waiting for Ralph to read through the pages, he began to tap his foot. He had the choice to either wait for the man to finish reading the entire file and risk the chance of them not finding anything, or reveal his own power to Ralph and get through the files within a second.  
"Give that to me!" Barry snapped. He snatched the file from Ralph's desk and began reading every page in an instant. "Rude much?" Ralph said, but he understood when he saw Barry's powers in action.

"Mr Allen? It seems you've been holding out on me too." He said.  
Barry threw the file on the desk, he had finished reading it. "There's a few places to start with, let's get to work Cisco." Barry scribbled the places on two pieces of paper from Ralph's note book and handed one piece of paper to Cisco and kept one for himself.  
There were about twenty places where the man could be hiding the girls, they were not going to leave any stone unturned until they found them.


	6. Chapter 6

"You should see your face, Astrid Sutherland." DR Edgar Cizko taunted her, "for someone who leads a company, such as STAR Labs, you no longer have a face that people will want to look on."

"Why are you doing this?" Iris asked him, "leave us alone!"  
Iris was still sitting on the floor and was trying to muster the willpower to get to her feet. But it wasn't working. She was trying to picture a wall that would sever the link that this man had on her mind.

The man ignored her and stepped back into the darkness, from Iris's position she could see that there was a table. He picked something up from it and returned. He was holding a mirror. He held it up in front of Astrid.

Astrid had her face staring down at the floor, her hair dangling past her face, she didn't want to see the damage, she closed her eyes.  
"Look at yourself!" he snapped at her. He grabbed the back of her hair in his hand and pulled up her head. Her eyes automatically fluttered open. She was covered in blood, she reminded herself the scene from the movie 'Carrie'. She took a deep breath but said nothing.  
"Why are you hurting her this way?" Iris asked him.

"This girl cost me my job, she cost me my wife, my entire life. I used to work for her father until she took over. Why would I want to work for a young girl who's only wish is to be in the spotlight every chance she gets? Especially while my team and I were on to something big. We changed that ape. He was the biggest success of our career, but her friends caught us. My colleagues were caught, but fortunately I wasn't, by then I had injected the serum into myself. But when she took over for her father, I left. My wife left me, but I managed to get her back, not that it lasted for very long."

"So you want revenge on me? That's it?" Astrid spat, "You want revenge on all women because we remind you of your wife? The woman who really hurt you?"  
"You know, Astrid. The only reason you have your powers, is because of me." He said with a smile, "In a sense, I created you… I can also destroy you. There is beauty in that." He said with a sly smile.

"Leave her alone!" Iris yelled, she had managed to bring up her foot to kick him, surprising all of them.  
Unfortunately, the kick wasn't enough, the doctor turned and smashed the mirror over Iris' head. "Stay down!" he snapped at her, but she was out cold.  
Astrid was mad at herself, it was because of her advice to Iris that she had mustered up the willpower to kick at the man. At least her theory had worked, but Iris was now suffering because of it.

"Leave her out of this, your anger is with me… you jerk!" Astrid snapped.  
"You really are a hero to others, aren't you? But you can't save everybody, least of all… yourself." As he said those words, he pulled out a syringe containing a clear chemical, he injected it into Astrid's arm and she immediately felt her eyes growing heavy.

When she awoke she found that both she and Iris had been chained to the wall, she was relieved to no longer be sitting in that chair but she feared what was to come next. He was no longer in the room, and every time he reentered the room he became all the more sinister. Whatever he had injected into her made her whole body feel like jelly, she couldn't move a muscle.

Astrid remembered how she had looked in the mirror. That man was beginning to break her.  
"Astrid, why are we chained up?" Iris wondered out loud.  
"I'm not sure. I'm so glad you were able to kick him earlier… it means that we have a fighting chance, do you think you will be able to do it again?" Astrid asked,  
"No, I think he dosed me with something. My whole body feels limp."

Astrid nodded, "Me too. I'm sorry Iris. It's my fault we're in this mess."  
"No its not. I wrote that article! You're not taking the blame for me."  
"If it wasn't for me taking over my father's business…"

"Astrid, stuff happens and this guy is a psycho who has it out for women, if it wasn't us, it'd be someone else… I'm beginning to wonder what he did to his wife."  
"Yeah, me too. But Iris, if we get the chance, I need you to run. I'll fight him off as best as I can, but you need to get the hell out of here."  
"No, I'm not leav…"

"Would the two of you just shut up!" His voice snapped at them as he opened the door with a loud bang, "I can hear your thoughts, remember? The only way any of you are getting out of here is in a body bag, and I want to have a little fun with you both first."  
They could smell the strong stench of alcohol on his breath. He approached Iris and ran his fingers through her hair, "Will it be with our reporter first? Or that one bitch who thinks that she runs the planet?" He left a lingering gaze over Iris and placed his hand on her shoulder. He continued to run his other hand through her hair. Iris managed to spit in his face. But he ignored it.

"Is that how you do it?" Astrid asked, "You get girls drunk, you compel them and torment them that way? That's pretty low. You're not a genius, just a moron! You won't break us!"  
Her words clearly affected him, he left Iris alone and approached her, "I think we have a winner." He said, his mouth was inches from Astrid's. She could see the spit on his face.  
She glared at him, she only wished that she could use her powers. She wanted to destroy his mind at that point. He kissed her and she managed to pull her head away, "Get off me you creep!" she screamed in his face.


	7. Chapter 7

"I like to hear you scream, Astrid… I know that I'm breaking you." Edgar Cizko said, he grabbed her hair roughly in his hand.  
"Is that a breach? I think it's Vibe and The Flash!" Iris exclaimed.

"Iris, it's another hallucination," Astrid said, she was beginning to tear up. "You need to…" before she could finish her sentence, Edgar was launched away from her by a large glistening projectile of energy. Their friends had arrived. Barry freed Iris and Astrid, they both collapsed to the floor cradling their hands.  
"Are you okay?" Cisco asked as he ran towards Astrid and put his arm around her.

She was still in shock, but feeling her powers return, she felt herself feeling nothing but anger. Her body was no longer jelly.  
"Flash, get Iris out of here now!" Astrid snapped as she slowly got to her feet. Cisco tried to support her, but she didn't need it.  
That creep was still laying on the floor, though he was still awake. She could see thanks to the light from Cisco's breach. Astrid let the anger over whelm her.  
"Astrid, we need to go, we will get DR Psycho locked up, I promise you." Cisco said.

"No, that's not what this man deserves." Astrid said coldly, there was a deep anger to her voice that even Cisco feared. He stayed back.  
Astrid was brought back to the time that she had taken down Grodd, she knew that she had it in her to take down this guy.  
He got to her feet and grinned at her. She immediately read his mind, he couldn't stop her. She knew that she was more powerful than he was.  
She let out a large mind scream, it was stronger than the one that she had set off into King Shark's mind. She knew that it had the effect that she was looking for. She saw the blood coming from his ears and his nose.

"Astrid, you need to stop." Cisco said, "Please."  
She closed her eyes and stopped the pressure on his mind. He dropped to his feet and Astrid and Cisco could hear the sirens arriving on to the scene.  
"Cuff him Cisco. That monster cannot go free." Astrid snapped, she left through the breach, which led to the other side of the cortex of STAR Labs.  
The Flash had brought Iris to Caitlin's medical bay to have her looked over, but the moment that Caitlin saw Astrid, she gasped.

Caitlin ran to her side and immediately brought her to the medical bay to be cleaned up.  
The wounds stung and there were so many of them.  
"I'm so sorry." Iris said, as she saw Astrid's face in the light.  
"Iris, I already said, it isn't your fault. You were under his compulsion. You couldn't do anything." Astrid replied calmly.  
Cisco finally joined them, "Dr Psycho has been taken into custody." He said as he stood next to the Flash.  
"So he's still alive?" Astrid asked him. As she turned to face them, they both saw the full extent of her wounds. She didn't need to read their minds to know how bad it was.  
"Yeah, he's still alive." Cisco said, "In a coma… but still alive."

Astrid read his mind, there was a part of him that would have loved to have killed the man for what he had done to her.  
"Some of these wounds are going to need stitches, Though, it shouldn't look too bad, there's only three cuts that will scar on your face." Caitlin said trying to reassure her.  
"Thanks Cait. How's your head, Iris?"  
"I'm okay. Caitlin has already stitched me up, she's a pretty awesome doctor. I get why Barry adores her." Iris said. Astrid and Caitlin smiled at Iris. "Where is that Barry, anyway?" Iris asked them all, trying to lighten the mood.

"He, er… went to get your dad." Cisco said. As he glanced up at the Flash, who took the hint and disappeared.  
"That's a shame…" Iris said.  
Caitlin finished dressing Astrid's wounds and then she and Cisco left to give Astrid and Iris some space.  
"Thank you for saying what you said to Caitlin, earlier. She and Barry really care about each other." Astrid said.  
"Yeah, I know. I see it. But, it's funny. Who would have thought you and I would actually become friends, we are friends, aren't we?" Iris asked.  
"After what the two of us have been through? Yeah, I think so… But I need you to promise me something." Astrid said.  
"What's that?" iris asked her, puzzled.

"Keep writing, don't let that creep stop you. Just please… Don't write anything harsh about STAR Labs again."  
"Deal…" Iris said.  
They were suddenly joined by Barry and Detective Joe West. Joe immediately hugged Iris, "I was so worried about you!" he said.  
Astrid and Barry went to leave to give them some space, but Joe pulled Astrid in for a hug too.  
She felt the tears begin to build up, "I'm proud of you, Astrid. You kept my baby safe." Joe said.  
"It was nothing."

"Clearly…" he said noticing her scars. "That man won't be getting out for a very long time."  
"Good, that's all I ask. Now if you'll excuse me." Astrid said bypassing them all and making her way towards her office. Caitlin, Harry and Cisco joined Barry, Iris and Joe in the medical bay.

"She almost killed that man, tonight." Cisco said. "I'm not saying that I blame her, but…"  
"I get what you're saying." Barry replied.  
"I'm going to go talk to her." Cisco said, excusing himself from the group.


	8. Chapter 8

"Cisco, whatever you're going to say, I know that I almost killed that man tonight… so just save it." Astrid said, as he entered her office and closed the door behind him. He shook his head and she stood up to face him. He said nothing.  
"Yeah, my face and arms look pretty bad… I get it!" Astrid began.  
He shook his head again.

"Look, what do you need to say? Just say it, Because right now… I just don't think that I can really deal with any of this!" Astrid snapped. But he didn't say anything, he wrapped his arms around her and just held her. Astrid began to cry, for the first time in a long time she let herself sob like a child. She had tried to resist, but in the end she felt utterly broken.  
"Iris," Joe began, as the two of them sat in alone. "Do you want to talk about what happened?"

"Not really, dad. I just can't believe that Astrid Sutherland is actually a superhero. She took most of the torment. I know what my next article is going to be about. I think she deserves it." Iris looked over at Barry and Caitlin speaking with Harry.

Tonight was the first time that she had ever admitted how she truly felt about Barry to anyone. But what she saw between he and Caitlin made her a little envious.  
Though Iris loved her career, it was exciting! She was achieving her passion and if she were to be with Barry, that would certainly complicate things.  
He and Caitlin had something that Iris did not want to destroy, because despite the way that she felt, seeing Barry this way, was comforting.  
Barry noticed Iris staring at him and excused himself from Harry and Caitlin to approached she and Joe.

"Hey, I heard the Flash saved the two of you tonight." Barry said to her.  
"Yeah, he did. Astrid also risked her life. I just never thought that…" Iris began.  
"...That she was more than just a CEO villainess? Yeah my friends do have a way of surprising people." Barry replied.  
"You read my article?"

"I couldn't get past my friends bragging… Cisco on the other hand…" he added with a laugh.  
"Yeah, I was told not to give up his secret. I'm just surprised that you weren't here sooner, you're always late to meet the Flash… yet the rest of your friends…" Iris wasn't sure what she was looking for, maybe some link between Barry and the Flash.

"Yep, that's me, I'm always late. Do you realize this is the first time you and I have had a decent conversation, since…"  
"Since I turned you down, I'm sorry about that. But there was that time that you and Astrid were… acting very peculiar in Jitters…"  
Barry remembered the time that she was referring to, the time that he and Astrid had been under Aphrodite's love spell, it made him groan. "Yeah, let's not go into that…" he said.

"Okay… but it's just sad that it took me having to be kidnapped twice, in two days for us to finally see eye to eye again, but we should talk more often. I should go, Thank Caitlin again for me. You two make a great couple, and I really do mean that!" Iris turned on her heels and followed Joe out of the cortex, leaving Barry quite pleased with the way things had gone.

Caitlin and Harry joined him. "She's going to be okay." Caitlin said looking up at Barry.  
"I know," Barry nodded, "And so are you and I, Caity."  
"That's good…" Dr Wells said, just as Astrid and Cisco walked into the room. "but I have fears for someone else." Cisco had his arm around Astrid as they approached the group.  
"I've decided to take a break from fighting outside of STAR Labs." Astrid said out loud.  
"You're sure?" Barry asked her.

"I'm positive, I could have killed that man tonight. While I can control my powers I saw something in myself that I really didn't like. That man managed to break me, and I get that it probably seems like I'm running away… but that's not it…"  
"Astrid, every hero falls." Barry said, "it's just a matter of getting back up and…"  
"Barry, but that's not it. I will continue to train with the lot of you… and I will definitely keep directing you in battles… my powers really help with that. But, I'm just not ready to go back out there. Not yet anyway." She said.  
Caitlin and Barry stared at Cisco.

"Don't look at me, this was entirely her decision, I'm just as surprised as you are that she wants out of the fighting." Cisco said, "Especially because of how powerful she is… but I get it… and I'm willing to support that."  
"I think it was a very wise decision, Astrid." Harry said, "It will give you the chance to strategize. Strategy makes an exceptional leader. Have you ever played a game of chess?"  
"My father… I mean Robert Sutherland taught me everything I knew." Astrid said.  
"Astrid?" Caitlin said, "What do you mean by Robert Sutherland?"  
Astrid had not yet realized that she had not told Caitlin nor Barry this news.

Barry held his tongue, he wondered just how much she knew of this truth, if she knew who her father really was, just as he did.  
"It's a long story… I'll tell you, while Harry gets the chess board set up!" Astrid said.


	9. Chapter 9

Since Barry had moved in with Caitlin, Iris had moved back in with Joe and Wally. She sat at the dining table with her laptop in front of the screen and a coffee beside her.  
She was going to write an article explaining all the horrible things that had happened to she and Astrid that day, but at the same time she wasn't ready to reveal it all. She wanted to be inspirational... that was her goal.

"Are you sure you want to do this, baby?" Joe asked her.  
"I'm certain. This will be the best revenge that I can get on him. Words are power and when he sees my name on this article, he will know that he has lost. That he couldn't break us. I'm just not sure where to start." She said.

"Well, start from the beginning. That's normally the best place to start."  
"Great advice, thanks dad." Iris said. Joe kissed her on the cheek and headed to bed, as Iris took a sip of her coffee and began to type.  
Now I know that you were hoping that I would write something in relation to Central City's heroic scarlet speedster, but today my eyes were opened. Opened to the fact that in this ever changing world, there are some with old fashioned back dated ways of thinking. A man with this perception and an agenda to break the will of women tried to overpower us today. But to that man, I say that you have failed. 

Powerful women are around us every day. They are our mothers, our sisters, our girlfriends and wives, our daughters, our aunts, our teachers and our bosses. Every day they face the same perils as men, but they work all that much harder to prove that they can do it, with barely as much recognition.   
A dear friend of mine fought harder than I have ever seen anyone fight today. Sure, there were moments that I could see her losing her strength, but she did it. She did not fail and she inspired me to be better. 

I recently turned down the prospect of love for my passion and while I may have wondered if I had made the right decision at the time, I realize now that this is the path that I have chosen. I am following my dreams and I am not letting anything stand in the way.   
I do not regret the decisions that I have made, as they have only put me on the path to be a stronger person. A stronger woman. Understandably, we still need men in our lives. I know that I would not be the person that I am without my father, my best friend or my brother. 

But in a world where women are taking the bull by the horns, we need these supportive men to stand behind us, to be there to catch us when we fall, to challenge us and to love us unconditionally, but at the same time not to stop us from reaching our goals.   
I want to thank those men around me for supporting me, along with our city's heroes… but today I want to thank a new heroine. I mentioned her in my last article, but today she showed me a new side of her. An unrelenting strength in the face of her adversary. My new inspirational hero, the Sutherland heiress… Astrid Sutherland. 

One thing she told me was to keep writing, to be the reporter that I have always dreamt of being… and that is what I will continue to do. Not only for my own passion… but because I have the drive to show everyone out there, that I can become the best damn female reporter that Central City has ever seen.   
So to that man who tried to break us today, I will tell you over and over, that you have failed. And you will continue to fail unless you change your perceptions. Because you did not break us… you only forced us to be the best that we can be. 

From Iris West, Central City's newest reporter.


	10. Chapter 10

Back at STAR Labs, Astrid and Harry had begun their chess tournament, with Barry, Caitlin and Cisco keenly anticipating the winner. In all fairness Astrid had refrained from using her powers.

"Check!" Harry said, with a smug look upon his face. "Astrid, you really need to learn to read your opponents."  
"You never did say how you guys found Iris and I." Astrid said not making her move just yet, and keeping a straight face.  
"Oh, this story you really need to hear, Jedi!" Cisco said with a grin.  
"I'm all ears…" Astrid said, looking at them all.

"So, do you remember that PI from CCPD a few years back? Ralph Dibny?" Barry asked her.  
"Yeah, didn't that guy get fired or something? Really? How does Harry know that guy?" she asked them puzzled.  
"I helped him get his job back…" Harry said, "The guy was innocent."  
"That's not an exciting story." She replied.

"Ralph may have had a few changes in the past few years… thanks to the meteor shower." Barry replied.  
"He could stretch his limbs to unbelievable lengths." Caitlin said, "It was a little… sickening… to say the least."  
"Yeah… that guy brought elongated to new meaning!" Cisco exclaimed, he had that excited look on his face, "…such a perfect name… elongated man!"  
"Not your finest, Cisco." Caitlin replied, "What about stretch? Or…"

"Rubber man?" Astrid asked. Then she remembered something clearly, "Oh my god! He was in Gotham! He lost weight! I barely recognized him back then… Wow!"  
"Astrid! Are you forgetting that we were in the middle of a chess game?" Harry snapped, "I'm going to defeat you in one move!"  
"Oh, yeah… my bad!" Astrid moved her pawn, getting Harry into checkmate immediately. "I bet you didn't see that coming! How does it go? Harry, you really need to learn to read your opponents." She mocked with a smile.

"Oh yeah! That's how my baby does it!" Cisco said with a smirk.  
"Dr Wells. Do you need to accompany me to the medical bay?" Caitlin asked him.  
"Why?" Harry asked her, a little irritated.

"Because you just got burned! Oh yeah!" Caitlin said giving Astrid a high five.  
"Nice one, Caitlin!" Cisco said.  
"Harry… Did you forget? Astrid was a criminal psychologist before she got her powers and took over the position here!" Barry said.  
"So, I'm guessing that we could recruit this… elongated man… Yes, Cisco, you can have that one… We need a new hero in our fold." Astrid said, "I mean, he did help you guys and he always struck me as a loner. Do you want to call him, Harry?"

"I'll get right on it." Dr Wells said as he entered his office and closed the door behind him.  
"My daughter got you good." Kent's voice said from inside Harry's office. He wasn't wearing his helmet.  
"Did she pass the god's test?" Harry asked him.

"I'm not sure, but knowing that she was going through that, and that I couldn't help… That was the worst battle that I have ever had to go through."  
"What are you saying, Kent?" Dr Wells asked him.  
"I want to see her." Kent replied. "…and I want her to really see me."


End file.
